Folding closet doors



1, 1959 A. P. CAPITANI 2,

FOLDING CLOSET DOORS Filed Nov. 23, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet l 20 H6. 4 94 92 INVENTOR.

Amvow P C4P/TAN/ ATTORNEY.

A. P cAPlTANl 2,915,118

FOLDING CLOSET DOORS Dec. 1, 1959 Filed NOV. 23, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 llllllll Fla.

INVENTOR. ARNOLD P C4P/7'ANI ATTOPNE Y United States Patent FOLDING CLOSET DOORS Arnold P. Cllpitahi, Oxford, Mich. Application November 23, 1955, Serial No. 548,691

4 elaims. (Cl; 160-118) This invention relates to closet doors and more particularly to light weight rigid and strong metal closet doors adapted to fold in such a manner that minimum effort is required to actuate the doors, and a pleasing appearance is presented.

In closet doors heretofore used it has been necessary in order toprovide a desired degree of rigidity and strength that the doors be heavy and thus they have been some what cumbersome.

I have found that by suitably contouring thin gauge metal a rigid and light weight closet door can be provided which can be actuated with minimum effort. With closet. doors heretofore used wherein the doors fold on vertically disposed axes it has been necessary to provide upper and lower tracks to maintain a desired degree of alignment of the doors, particularly where two pairs of hinged doors are moveable toward each other to a closed position. I have found that more accurate alignment of the doors can be achieved where aligning brackets positioned at the bottom of adjacently disposed mating doors are employed to contact the adjacently disposed doors to induce a desired degree of alignment between the lower edges of thevdoors as they toward each other to the closing or obstructing position thereby eliminating the need for lower door guiding tracks.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved folding closet door formed of thin gauge metal contoured to provide a reinforced light weight rigid door structure. A further object of my invention is to provide a folding door having vertically adjustable pivot pins which may readily be adjusted and locked in place to insure easy low friction movement of the doors between the closed and open position.

Yet another object of my invention resides in the provision of a closet door having a single track positioned at the upper edge of the door, co-operating aligning brackets carried by adja'cently positioned doors which move toward each other being employed to align the lower vertical edges of mating doors to insure accurate alignment of the doors as they move to the closed posi- 'tion. I Another object resides in the use of a preformed folding door supporting guide adapted to be secured to a structure at the top of closet doors, and having preformed pivot indentations and elongated apertures formed therein whereby the horizontal adjustment of the guide may be varied, and the pivots of the door may be accurately located.

Still another object of my invention is to provide improved closet door members having substantially fiat panel sections reinforced by a vertically extending centrally disposed channel section welded to the panel, and having U-shaped upper and lower channels welded to the panel and to the vertically extending reinforcing channel section, the upper and lower channels having overhanging portions to support .hinged segments whereby adjacently disposed doors may be hinged together. 5

2,915,118 Patented Dec. 1, 19 5;

vision of symmetrically disposed folding doors which maybe hinged for left or right hand folding merely by vertieally reversing the symmetrically disposed panels.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a stamped metal door having reinforced channel memberssecured together by a welding operation to provide rigid doors of simplified artistic design;

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings, submitted for purposes of illustration only and not intended to define the scope of the invention, reference being bad for that purpose to the subjoined claims. y

In the drawings,- wherein similar charapters refer to similar parts throughout the several views: v

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a closet door embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top elevational viewthereo f.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 shown on a reduced scale, and illustrating the use of two pairs of oppositely hinged adjacently disposed folding doors.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating aligning brackets positioned inside and at the bottom of adjacently hinged doors to align the vertically extending panels thereof as the hinged doors are movedtoe ward each other thereby eliminating the need for lower door guiding. tracks.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, illustrating the disposition of a roller carried by the closet door and moveably mounted in a door guiding track positioned above the door. a

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 illustrating theupper pivot pin.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 illustrating the lower pivot pin. 5

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 9is a perspective view of a bottom floor plate illustrated in Fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is an inside elevational view illustrating the hinged connection between adjacently disposed folding panels.

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the hinge illustrated in Fig. '10.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary view illustrating, the. formation of one of the panels.

Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 1313 of Fig. 12, looking inthe direction of the arrows.

Fig. 14 is a view taken on the line 1 4--1 4 of Fig. 12 looking in the direction of the arrows. i

Fig. 15 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 15-15 of Fig. 12 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried .out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purposeof description and not of limitation.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings it will be noted that my invention is illustrated as applied to a folding closet door having metal panels 10 and 12 hinged together at 14 and 16.

As shown in Fig. 7 the panel 10 has a pointed end pivot screw 18 adjustably secured to a bracket plate 19 welded or otherwise secured to the lower channel 20 and adapted to be locked in place therein after adjustment by a nut 22. The pointed end 24 of the screw 18 is adapted to project into one or the other of a pair of pivot sockets 26 formed in a floor pivot plate 28 more clearly illustrated in Fig. 9, and having a pair of apertures 30 to receive screws 32 to anchor the pivot plate 28 in a floor 34.

As illustrated in Fig. 6 a bracket 35 welded to an upper channel 36 of the door panel 10 is apertured to receive a pointed end pivot screw 38 adapted to be locked therein in adjusted position by means of a nut 40. The pointed end 42 of the screw 38 is adapted to project into an indentation 44 formed in a top track 46 adapted to be secured to a header 48 by means of screws 50.

i The door panels 10 and 12 as illustrated in Fig. 1 consist of substantially flat metallic panels which preferably are formed of thin gauge light weight sheet metal. As more clearly shown in Fig. 13, the side edges of the panels 10 and 12 are flanged inwardly as illustrated at 52 and 54 to provide a reinforced rigid structure. Centrally disposed reinforcing channels 56 extend vertically with respect to the panels 10 and 12, and have side fianges 58 secured to the inside surface of the panels 10 and 12 as by welds 60 to reinforce the panels.

The lower channels 20 and the upper channels 36 of the panels 10 and 12 are of U-shaped contour and have substantially fiat sections 62 and 64 respectively to extend transversely across the lower and upper edges of'the panels 10 and 12. The lower and upper channels 20 and 36 have depending flanges 66 and 68 extendingto overlie the vertically extending centrally disposed reinforcing channel 56 to be welded thereto as illustrated at 70 to provide a more rigid yet light weight construction.

The panel 12 is of course formed similarly to the panel 10 and the panels are adapted to be hinged together by the upper and lower hinges 14 and 16 respectively.

As illustrated in Fig. 10 the lower channels 20 and the upper channels 36 have projecting portions extending beyond the surface of their adjacent vertical panels '10 and 12 to receive the hinges 16 and 14 respectively.

Figs. 5 and 8 illustrate the manner in which the panel 12 of the door is guided with reference to the top track 46. A roller 76 preferably formed of nylon or other suitable material is mounted on a stud 7*8 projecting through a bracket 80 welded or otherwise secured to the upper channel 36 and locked in place therein by a nut 82. The roller 76 is received within the channels of the top track d6, and serves to accurately position the panel 12 with reference to the panel 10, as the panel 10 is oscillated about the pointed pivot screws 18 and 38 to hinge the folding door sections 10 and 12 from the fully closed to the open position illustrated by dash dot lines in Fig. 2.

Where a relatively narrow door is required a single pair of door panels 10 and 12 hinged together at 14 and 16 give good results. With this type of door the panels 10 and 12 embody a sufficient degree of rigidity that it is unnecessary to employ a bottom track to guide the doors as they move to the folded position because the top track '46 in cooperation with the hinges 1-4 and 16 accurately maintains the panels 10 and 12 in predetermined angular relation relative to each other as the door is moved from the closed to the open positions and vice versa.

Where it is desired to close a larger opening than can advantageously be accomplished by a single pair of doors two pair of hinged panels 10 and 12 may be employed as illustrated in Fig. 3. The panels 10 having the vertically spaced pivot screws 18 and 38 therein are positioned on theoutside of the door opening.

To maintain accurate alignment of the vertically aligned edges of the adjacently disposed panels 12 when the 4 double hinged doors are moved to the closed position as illustrated in Fig. 3, a pair of cooperating aligning brackets 84 and 86 are secured to the adjacently disposed lower channels 20 of the panels 12. The aligning brackets 84 and 86 are secured in any desired manner as by bolts 88 to a bracket 90 welded to the lower channels 20 as illustrated in Fig. 4. v

The aligning brackets 84 and 86 have laterally extending projections or fingers 92 and 94 respectively adapted to extend beyond the edge of its door panel to lie behind and engage the flanged edge 52-'54 of the adjacently disposed door panel 12 as the double doors thus formed are moved to the closed position. The vertical edges of adjacently disposed door panels 1. are thus accurately aligned to present a neat appearance.

If desired the aligning bracket 86 may be used where only a pair of hinged panels 10 and 12 are employed as illustrated in Fig. l. In that instance the projection 94 of the bracket 86 would engage a fixed abutment or stop as the door is shifted to the fully closed position illustrated in Fig. l.

While my invention has been described with particular reference to a preferred embodiment it will be apparent that many changes may be made in the specific mechanism thereof without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a folding door construction comprising vertically hinged panels pivotally mounted on opposite sides of an aperture to be closed, panels hinged to said pivoted panels, a top track, guide means carried by said hinged panels and engaging the top track to maintain predetermined alignment between said panels, and aligning brackets secured at the bottom of each of the adjacently disposed folding panels and having projections extending laterally beyond the vertical edges thereof and adapted to engage the rear face of the adjacently disposed panel to maintain predetermined alignment of adjacent'edges of folded panels when moved to the closed position.

2. A folding closet door structure for closing a vertical opening comprising vertically extended outer panels hinged for pivotal movement about fvertical axes at opposite sides of the opening, vertically extended inner panels hinged to the outer panels for pivotal movement about vertical axes, guide means extending transversely of the vertical opening, connecting means between the inner panels and the guide means to maintain predetermined alignment between the upper ends of the inner panels when moved to the closed position, and aligning brackets carried by the inner panels adjacent their bot.- tom ends and each having an aligning projection extending laterally beyond its marginal edge to engage the adjacent inner panel to maintain predetermined alignment at the bottom of the inner panels.

3. In a folding door construction, laterally spaced vertically'hinged confronting pairs of outer and inner'panels, upper guide means for inducing the inner panels tomove along a predetermined path, and aligning brackets carried adjacent the bottom of the inner panels and each having a lateral projection extended beyond its marginal edge to engage the adjacent inner panel to induce predetermined alignment adjacent the bottom of the inner panels.

4. In a folding door construction, laterally spaced vertically hinged confronting pairs of outer and inner panels, upper guide means for inducing the inner panels to move along a predetermined path, each of the outer and inner panels having a substantially fiat surface having flanged edges, a centrally disposed vertically extending rigidifying channel section having outwardly extending flanges secured to the rear face of the panel, lower and upper horizontally extending rigidifying channels having substantially flat sections positioned at the lower and upper ends respectively of the panel and having depending flanges overlying and secured to the exposed face of the centrally disposed rigidifying channel adjacent its terminal ends, and aligning brackets carried adjacent the bottom of the inner panels and each having a lateral projection extended beyond its marginal edge to engage the adjacent inner panel to induce predetermined alignment adjacent the bottom of the inner panels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,133,080 Willner et a1. Mar. 23, 1915 6 Phillips May 10, 1921 Anetsberger et a1. Sept. 3, 1929 Rowe Feb. 25, 1941 Bales July 22, 1947 Horn Oct. 23, 1951 Frie et a1. Nov. 29, 1955 McCall Apr. 3, 1956 

